Kathleen Byers' trouble with police has ended her tenure protecting schoolkids, but her defenders sent her off in colourful style on Sunday.

Dufferin St at Gordon St. was packed with dancing defenders of Kathleen Byers, who will no longer
work at the crosswalk as a crossing guard. She was suspended last week and decided to quit, but she showed up for one last dance, leading a colourfully attired crowd of more than 100.

They gathered at a crosswalk, but they didn’t simply walk. It was a protest, but they didn’t march. For these demonstrators, nothing less than a dance party would do.

Fans of Toronto’s dancing crossing guard Kathleen Byers shimmied to pop hits in her honour on Sunday, as more than 100 neighbours, families and supporters joined an outdoor celebration of the 65-year-old community fixture.

Ending a decade of service, Byers resigned her post last week after being suspended for appearing in a music video with her official stop sign and reflective vest without permission.

Toronto Police Service, which oversees crossing guards, had previously asked Byers to stop dancing on the job, citing safety concerns. The reprimand over her appearance in local indie-rock band Born Ruffians’ video was the final straw.

However, the end of her tenure couldn’t dampen the festive atmosphere at Byers’ intersection, at Dufferin and Gordon Sts. opposite Grove Community School: Kids and adults danced in conga lines across the street to a portable speaker blaring “Dancing Queen,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and more.

“She’s good at what she does and there was no reason for her to be suspended,” said organizer Vanessa Dunn who works in the area and called Byers a “community hero.”

“I bought this orange vest that I’m wearing here for $20 at Mark’s Work Warehouse . . . besides that though I think that her presence and her love and her support of the community is essential. It goes beyond her assisting children and community members across the street: this is about bringing joy to the community and just seeing someone enjoying what they do. It is so rare. It’s really inspiring.”

Accompanied by one of her six daughters, former fitness instructor Byers was in attendance, and buoyed by the support.

“It speaks volumes about doing what’s right,” she said. “We don’t have to follow along like good little soldiers and do the status quo. We should not be afraid to stand up and live our truth, to be ourselves.”

She plans to fill those four extra hours cooking and taking long walks.

“I’m not a person that gets down,” she said. “And I’m open to other videos. SNL, maybe?”

The event attracted people outside the neighbourhood moved by larger issues at play.

“I thought this is a great opportunity for me as part of the working class to come and support someone who is just trying to do their job,” said Lena.

“My main concern is that there is a bureaucracy that creates unnecessary restrictions on lower-wage workers to act in a certain way. People get fired for small things all the time and usually it’s the employer who has the rights in that situation; so I would like to see that change and I think this is a great opportunity by uniting all the people in the neighbourhood and throughout Toronto.”

Artist Jess, who did not want to provide her last name for privacy reasons, came from East Toronto with her 9-year-old daughter.

“I see this is as a city issue not a neighbourhood issue,” she said. “I think it’s part of a larger issue, an understanding of people being able to express themselves; and that by doing that it’s actually making this city a more beautiful place.”

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